BlogAdvice to Get You Started on Your Applications -- And, hopefully, Improve Your Whole Life :)

​Last week, I reported a terrible Common App bug: for some reason, the last paragraph of essays are not always getting pasted over into the application. So, if you're not careful, your essay will just sort of end.

This week, I return with another unfortunate bug to report:

Sometimes (but not every time), when you put an ellipsis in your essay...

This probably won't be a problem for most students, because most students don't write with ellipses. They've never been allowed to do it in their classes, or they think it's too informal. But keep in mind: college essays aren't term papers. They're a chance for admissions officers to get to know you. You can be as informal as you want in your essays -- as long as you're writing in your own voice and showing them your truest you.

I'm just sad that some of the creative (and daring!) writers out there are going to be punished if they're not super careful proofreaders.

THE TAKEAWAY: PROOFREAD EVERYTHING AFTER YOU PUT IT IN THE COMMON APP. THE WEBSITE IS SUPER BUGGY, AND ONLY YOU CAN MAKE SURE YOUR ESSAYS LOOK THE WAY YOU WANT THEM TO.

True. But that's at least MOSTLY because most students think they need to write their college essays like scholarly essays, which is not true. Formality only makes you sound fake and impersonal. It usually takes a lot of convincing to get my students to write colloquially, but they are ALWAYS happy with the results.

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Eva Glasrud completed her B.A. and M.A. at Stanford. She is now a college counselor and life coach for gifted youth.